A CONSTITUTION FOR U T A H BY STANLEY S. IVINS*
"V\ 7"HEN the Mormons, or Latter-day Saints, followed Brigham " Young westward in search of a new home, they were inspired by the prediction of their martyred prophet, Joseph Smith, that they would "become a mighty people in the midst of the Rocky Mountains." 1 A few months after the first of them had entered the Salt Lake Valley, on July 21, 1847, the editor of their official publication in England wrote: "The nucleus of the mightiest nation that ever occupied the earth is at length established in the very place where the prophets, wrapt in sacred vision, have long since foreseen it."2 Early in 1849 these settlers met in convention at Great Salt Lake City and framed a constitution for the State of Deseret. State officers were elected, and Almon W. Babbit was sent to Washington with a memorial to Congress praying for the admission of Deseret to the Union. The request was denied, and, in the fall of 1850, a bill was approved organizing the country occupied by the Mormons as the territory of Utah. Partially appeased by the appointment of Brigham Young as their governor, the Saints reluctantly accepted the territorial status, but their dream of empire building persisted. On March 17, 1856, they met in convention and adopted a second constitution for the State of Deseret. But by this time, a nation-wide sentiment had developed against the Mormons. They had openly avowed their belief in the doctrine of a plurality of wives, and there were complaints that they were setting up a theocratic dictatorship, under which the federal government was ignored and unbelievers were mistreated. Not only was this second application for statehood disregarded, but President Buchanan appointed Alfred Cumming to replace Brigham Young as governor, and gave him a military escort, to make sure that he would be welcomed to Utah. The Mormons resisted the entrance of the troops into the territory, and the "Utah War" followed. It was more a war of words than of bullets, and •Stanley S. Ivins is a leading authority on many aspects of Utah and Mormon history, and has been a previous contributor to the Quarterly. 1 Latter Day Saints' Millennial Star, XDC (Liverpool, October 3, 1857), 630. 2 lbid., X (January 1, 1848), 1.
